


Guilty

by sleepyysalamiri



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Bad English, Fix-It, Gen, POV Lyste, duct tape fic, poor boy deserves to live
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 02:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9947387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepyysalamiri/pseuds/sleepyysalamiri
Summary: Due to Kallus's efforts, everyone is convinced that Yogar Lyste is Agent Fulcrum. He is accused of treason and arrested. Grand Admiral Thrawn decides to interrogate him personally.





	

The blood pulsation in his head is almost deafening, echoing in the wounded lip. Cold sweat runs under the collar, hands shaking, as if trying to grasp something, to stop him from falling. Fear. Confusion. Disbelief. No, it is all a mistake, a misunderstanding, they can't seriously...  
The door opened with a loud noise.  
"I am innocent! I was trying to stop Governor Pryce!" Lyste jumped from his chair, but froze when he saw who entered his cell.  
It seemed that Grand Admiral decided to question him personally. Cold crimson gaze, completely unreadable. What does he feel about Lieutenant now - the man, whom Yogar wanted to impress so badly? Disdain? Hatred? Will he show mercy, order the execution? Or is he more likely to send the traitor to interrogators, to get from Lyste confession of the crime that he did not commit?  
"Please, sir, you have to believe me..." This time Lieutenant's plea was almost in a whisper.  
Cold crimson gaze drills him in an endless silence, and under its weight the prisoner falls back onto his chair.  
"I do believe. Moreover, about three dozen people have confirmed that you tried to shoot Governor Pryce. I am wondering why did you do that," Thrawn finally answers.  
The chair creaks on the metal floor, like nails on a chalkboard. Thrawn sits down just in front of Yogar, and he finds enough courage to raise his head. What Grand Admiral's gaze means now? A threat? Curiosity? Blame? Lyste fails to understand.  
"I shot her because she is a rebel spy."  
"Governor? Interesting. And why do you think so?"  
"Agent Kallus told me that you have been suspecting her for some time, and that she is being watched by ISB, and..." Lieutenant hesitated. Arguments that were so solid half an hour ago, now sounded completely far-fetched.  
"And?"  
"And I have seen her opening fire on the two Stormtroopers, so I thought..."  
"Did you? Remember what happened next."  
Yogar closed his eyes, trying to remember recent events, until the awareness of the terrible truth fell on him.  
"Stormtroopers ran away with the bounty hunter, who was dressed in Imperial uniform," he whispered with a struggle.  
She tried to stop them. She almost shot one of them.  
"And that means...?" Grand Admiral asked.  
"That means Governor Pryce is not a spy," answered Lyste in a low voice.  
"Precisely. And that you shot a high-ranking Imperial officer, while being guided only by unsubstantiated speculation."  
Damn.  
Yogar suddenly felt much colder.  
"But if she is not a spy... then who is?"  
"That is a good question," Thrawn leaned forward. "Security records show that it was you who gained access to the prison cell, just before the bounty hunter escaped from it. That it was you who broke into my office just before Chimaera clearance codes were downloaded from my terminal, and my droids were reprogrammed to kill me. And it was you who prevented Governor Pryce from capturing the rebels, allowing them to escape."  
"But... it is some kind of mistake! I am not a spy!" Lieutenant almost started to yell. "And I have not been in your office; I was watching Governor, in case she… does something."  
"Can anyone confirm this?"  
"I was trying to stay unnoticed."  
Damn.  
"That means you are unable to prove your innocence," Grand Admiral leaned back, his face was still unreadable. "Then tell me, Lieutenant, if you are not a spy, and Governor Pryce is not, then who is?"  
"I asked that first!", Yogar wanted to say but bit his tongue. If even for Thrawn himself it was a mystery, how was Lyste supposed to know? Why won't Grand Admiral ask Colonel Yularen? Or Kallus? In the end, it was Kallus who said that Grand Admiral suspects Governor...  
Damn.  
"He lied," Lyste whispered more to himself than to Thrawn. "He lied, so I would not get in his way."  
"Who lied?" Asked Thrawn.  
Resentment. Anger. Determination.   
Lieutenant raised his head, meeting the cold crimson gaze, glowing in the darkness.  
"Agent Kallus."  
"Interesting," Thrawn raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any proof of his guilt?"  
"No. But you do."  
Now he will definitely be executed for such insolence, but somehow Yogar did not care anymore. Thrawn locked his fingers in front of his mouth, and Lyste could have sworn that behind them was an involuntary grin.  
"Are you suggesting me to let you go and arrest Agent Kallus?"  
"I would appreciate that."  
Silence. Cold crimson gaze meets pale blue. Unrest. Hope. Plea.  
"No," Thrawn answers and Yogar feels like something breaks inside him.  
"But I am innocent..." The last, desperate attempt to change something.  
"I know. Also I know that Kallus is a real spy. Now he is sure that he deceived me by shifting the blame on you, and I need to support him in this belief."  
"So, I will be executed."  
"Give me a reason not to."  
No, he is kidding.  
Why won't he just kill Lyste, if all he is - a convenient scapegoat? Why Grand Admiral wastes his precious time in this cell, trying to learn information which he already knows so well? If only…  
Cold crimson gaze. Calm, unreadable face. And emotion that Lyste was trying to guess since the first minute is... amusement?  
Thrawn is not trying to learn new evidence of Kallus's guilt or a reason to let Lyste live. He wants to make sure that Lyste is capable of guessing something himself.  
Well, so be it.  
"You are considered a genius, sir," Yogar's voice was unnaturally calm. "Empire's hope, no less. You should listen to some stories that soldiers tell about you in the barracks. When it turns out that all this time Agent Kallus was a real spy, everyone will be delighted. But there'll be those who will remember that before that you executed me. Those who will ask themselves how much do you value loyalty of your soldiers, if even the most loyal ones could be accused of treason. When it turns out that I was innocent, my death will seem like your mistake."  
"You understand that everything can be represented differently," Thrawn answers.  
Lyste suddenly felt weary and covered face in his hands.  
"I understand. But you do not need my advice. You just want to know whether I deserve to live."  
"And do you want to know the verdict?"  
Lieutenant did not answer.  
"You are young, naive, inexperienced and ambitious," Thrawn continued anyway. "The combination that had already brought many officers to their fall. You blindly pursue your every guess, without even bothering to stop and think about your actions. To check your motives. To guess the consequences. You had not thought twice even before you shot the senior officer."  
Lyste was silent, though more than anything else he wanted to politely ask Grand Admiral to shut up.  
"But..."  
But?  
"At least your loyalty is without question. You were not afraid to take a risk and try to stop the person who, as you thought, was a threat to the Empire. You rushed into battle to protect those who, as you though, were loyal soldiers. You have made many errors..."  
The chair creaked again. Grand Admiral raised and headed for the exit.  
"...But I hope you will have enough time to think about them, Lieutenant."  
It took Yogar a few seconds to process what he just heard.  
"You can count on me, sir," he answered, finally.  
Thrawn gave him one brief glance before the door closed again.


End file.
